Members of the Diocese speak out on the recent acts of vandalism that have taken place. From the toppling of the cross outside of St. Athanasius Church to the destruction of the Rosary garden at the Shrine Church of St. Gerard Majella, each video details the unthinkable crimes and shows the unwavering faith in each parish.
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Church Vandalism: Shrine Church of St Gerard Majella
Members of the Diocese speak out on the recent acts of vandalism that have taken place. From the toppling of the cross outside of St. Athanasius Church to the destruction of the Rosary garden at the Shrine Church of St. Gerard Majella, each video details the unthinkable crimes and shows the unwavering faith in each parish.
New York City Voters Cast Ballots for Mayor, Comptroller and Public Advocate with New Ranking System
By Jessica Easthope
Voters steadily streamed into the Brooklyn Museum in Park Slope, Tuesday, June 22, citing healthcare, COVID recovery and jobs as the top concerns that brought them to the polls for the primary election. But it was one single issue people agreed the city’s next leader needs to tackle: housing.
“Personally, for me it’s housing,” one voter said.
“Affordable housing is probably the most important issue,” said another.
They call New York City home – so voters want someone who will help them stay.
“You see a lot of them hanging out on the street in front of the buildings where they used to live,” said Nirva Decopain.
Tuesday was the first brush with ranked-choice voting. People were asked to list their five favorite candidates but could opt out and still only choose one. Some voters were taken by surprise.
“I’m a little bit intimidated by ranked choice,” Roshelle Sumner said. “I’ve never really dealt with anything like that before.”
But others came prepared and called the strategy a political game-changer.
“I actually found it to be a pretty easy process and I was happy we had a couple of choices,” said Pat Stortz.
With no presidential race or congressional seats up for grabs, turnout in this primary, to decide who would continue in the races for comptroller, public advocate and mayor, was expected to stay low. In the 2017 mayoral race, only Democrats voted in the primary and just 15 percent of them cast ballots.
But now with heavy-hitting issues like crime, economic recovery and social justice reform facing New York City, voters said they needed their voices heard.
Paul Basista said what he wants out of this election.
“Less crime, better education, more social justice,” Paul said.
And despite Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams leading the polls, voters said he wasn’t necessarily their frontrunner.
“I ranked Maya Wiley first,” said Dan Casey.
“I think Maya has a grasp on it,” Sylvia Dela Pena said.
“As far as criminal justice policy, I voted for Maya Wiley,” said Antoine Morris.
“Maya Wiley has a good idea,” Paul said. “Take some money and put it toward mental health because a lot crime has been done by homeless people who are not well.”
“I’ve always been impressed with Maya Wiley because of her legal position within the de Blasio administration, it’s helpful to have someone who understands from the inside out what needs to change,” said Pat.
Voters can cast their ballots Tuesday until 9 p.m.
Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 6/22/21
Party primaries – New York City is off to the races, but the results could take some time.
Religious Freedom Week kicks off – Catholics around the world taking a stand for the freedom on which this country was founded.
We are at the ballpark, but Catholic school students are on the mound.
Supreme Court Decision in Catholic Adoption Agency Case Being Called A Victory for Religious Freedom
By Currents News Staff
A unanimous Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling is being called a victory for religious freedom.
SCOTUS ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency in Philadelphia. They say that the city refusing to work with Catholic Social Services (CSS) because of a faith-based practice they follow violates religious liberty.
“This is a victory for our beautiful city and for all of the children in our community who are counting on us to give them a fighting chance,” explained Toni Simms-Busch. She was one of the plaintiffs in the case, along with fellow foster care mom, Sharonell Fulton. Both women are Catholic.
“Their faith motivates all aspects of their work,” Toni said. “Their approach to ministry results in stronger foster families. Families that can continue to serve those in need, when others are burnt out.”
The case started when Catholic Social Services’ contract with the city of Philadelphia was frozen. The agency’s religious objections prevented them from placing children with same-sex couples.
The loss sparked a battle that’s spanned years and made it all the way to the high court, based off the idea that the city violated the First Amendment.
Now the agency and two foster moms can finally rest easy.
All nine justices ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services, saying Philadelphia was forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.
The opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Catholic Social Services just wants to continue serving children while staying true to their religious beliefs – not to impose those beliefs on others.
The Becket Fund, which defends religious liberty, represented the moms and Catholic Social Services in the case.
Montse Alvarado, the Executive Director of the Becket Fund said, “Every single justice said that religious freedom is not a second-class right, it’s front and center the bedrock of our constitution and our freedom in America.”
Still, some of the more conservative justices, including Samuel Alito, think the decision could have done more to solidify religious liberty.
As part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Catholic Social Services has been serving the city for over 200 years. Through this ruling, they can now continue to do so.
Who Is Going To Be the Next New York City Mayor? The Race Isn’t Over on Primary Day
Currents News Staff
Voting for the New York City Democratic primary for mayor started early. Even so, the end’s not near.
“This is not only a race for the mayor of New York, this is a race to save our city,” mayoral candidate Eric Adams said.
But the race could be a slow one. The results may not be known until July. If you’re wondering why, well, for one thing, election officials have to wait for thousands of absentee ballots and then count them. The absentee ballots are not due until a week after Primary Day.
Secondly, the city is using ranked-choice voting for the first time which complicates things.
“I believe in the promise of New York,” said mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
One promise from election officials is that you will get information throughout the process. This is how it will go: only New Yorker’s first choice votes will be counted right away. If one candidate wins 50-percent of the first-choice votes, you have a winner. But with a pool of 13 Democrats, that’s unlikely.
So we go to the rankings. The last place candidate will be eliminated. If your first-choice candidate does not win and they’re eliminated, then your second-choice vote will be counted and added to that candidate’s total. That cycle continues until there is a winner.
The city’s Board of Elections plans to reveal the first round of ranked choice results a week after the primary, on June 29, on its website – and will continue to update the results once a week.
Therefore, it is possible that we may not know who New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate will be…until the week of July 12!
“New York, we’ve got a big choice to make,” said mayoral candidate Maya Wiley.
Catholic News Headlines for Monday, 6/21/21
Shocking video shows children caught in the middle of a shooting in New York City – as gun violence grows nationwide
Violence is a top agenda for mayoral candidates as we inch closer to the New York City primary.
Concerns are growing the U.S. will not reach President Biden’s vaccine goal.
Venders are overwhelmed with demand as couples rush to say “I do.”
Gun Violence and Shootings Continue to Grow Across the Country
By Currents News Staff
Warning: The video is hard to watch. A man running from a gunman in the Bronx suddenly falls and knocks down two children. But that doesn’t seem to faze the shooter who unleashes a barrage of bullets. Fortunately, the five and 10-year-old kids weren’t hit.
Unfortunately, it seems this is becoming the sound of the summer across America. Incidents took place in Oakland, California to Chicago to Minneapolis.
Just this weekend, more than 30 were killed in gun violence, according to the gun violence archive. Disturbingly, children continue to be caught in the crossfire.
In Dallas, Texas a gunfight between partygoers left eight people injured, including a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old. In Detroit June 17, police are still investigating a shooting that killed a two year-old.
“You know, I don’t wish this on my worst enemy,” said Brian Christian, father of the two-year-old child who was shot.
Here in New York City, there have been more than 630 shootings so far this year. That’s compared to nearly 390 at this time last year, making it a 64-percent increase according to the NYPD.
Some gun reform advocates are discouraged by what they feel is a lack of action at the federal level in the wake of this uptick in violence.
“The fact that we have not seen very much substantial gun reform from the Biden administration – which is especially disappointing considering the fact that Joe and Kamala both campaigned on this,” said Cameron Kasky, a Parkland shooting survivor and gun reform advocate. “People are very frustrated.”
The Summer of Nuptials: Wedding Vendors See Big Boom in Business as New York Reopens
By Emily Drooby
New York makeup artist Sharon Becker was traveling all weekend for a wedding gig. Once she got home, instead of a break, she had to prepare for another job.
“The last month since weddings picked up again has been totally bonkers, completely insane,” Sharon said. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like this before and I’ve been doing this for 10 years now.”
After the pandemic, the busy schedule is welcomed. She owns her own company, SB Beauty.
“It feels great,” Sharon added. “I’m so excited to be working again!”
Sharon is not alone. Wedding vendors across the city have seen a boom in business.
According to The Wedding Report, 42 percent of weddings originally scheduled in 2020 were moved to a date this year.
On top of that, with COVID restrictions lifted in New York, people can finally throw bigger weddings.
“Our phones have been ringing off the hook,” said Benjamin Gold. He’s the co-founder and president of the NY Food Truck Association.
They have 75 members with over 125 trucks.
“And they’re booked pretty much every weekend,” Ben explained.
Food trucks have become a popular option for wedding food.
In 2019, the association had anywhere from 30 to 40 percent of their trucks booked on the weekend. In 2020, during the pandemic, that number dropped down to below five percent. Now, that number is close to 95 percent.
“I mean there’s still going to be a lot of scars for a long time to come,” Ben said, “but this definitely helps get over that pretty quickly.”
Christian Rada is the Director of Marriage, Family Formation, and Respect Life Education for the Diocese of Brooklyn. Even he has seen an increase in pending marriages too.
“I’m seeing an increase in couples going to Pre-Cana.”
Couples are heading back to the church altar.
“Couples now want to get married inside the church. They want to have family and friends gather together to celebrate this wonderful occasion of two people coming together and asking for God’s blessing,” said Christian.
The summer of nuptials. That means more marriages, more families and more business for wedding vendors: all bright spots coming ahead after a difficult year.
Sacred Heart Catholic Academy Students Win Scholarship for Their Inspiring Bond
By Jessica Easthope
Izzy and Grace are inseparable – but they’re nothing like other best friends.
Izzy leans on Grace, when they’re walking down the stairs or down the hall at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside, Queens. That’s because for Izzy, Grace is her caretaker.
“I usually walk with her and hold on to her, or if I can’t see something, she’ll read it to me and sometimes people aren’t always willing to do that,” said Izzy Gamarra, who is considered legally blind.
For the girls, there’s nothing special about their friendship – navigating the world together is all they’ve ever known. Izzy was only seven years old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor that took her sight. That was when Grace took on a new role in her life.
“I can kind of see when she’s struggling most of the time and when I can’t, you always tell me, which I really like,” Grace said.
Arm in arm, Grace and Izzy are leaving the place where their friendship began and starting a new chapter together: attending high school at Holy Cross in Flushing, Queens.
Jeanine Rana, a faculty member and alumna of Sacred Heart Catholic Academy spoke about the importance of Catholic education.
“That’s what I grew up with, in this building and after all these years,” Jeanine said. “Catholic school is still instilling good and love in children.”
Over the last year, Jeanine was inspired by Grace and Izzy’s bond. Still in touch with her Sacred Heart classmates from more than 30 years ago, Jeanine reached out to tell them about the girls and within hours, they raised more than $2,000 dollars. The alumna decided to give the funds to the girls as a surprise scholarship at graduation.
“We wanted them to feel what we feel and hope and pray that 30-something years later, they can do the same for others,” she said.
The girls were blown away, but for their moms, it was a moment of pride.
“Grace had really took on that role very young, I think without realizing it, and I know when Izzy is out of the house with Grace, I know she’s safe,” said Izzy’s mom, Danielle Chase. “You can’t fake what Grace does.”
“She was given this gift of Izzy earlier than some people get it,” said Peggy McKenna, Grace’s mom. “That’s really how we look at it and treat this situation – it really is a gift.”
The girls began living in the same two-family home a few years ago, but getting sick of each other was never an option.
“I tell her everything, she’s my go-to person,” Grace said. “She understands what I’m trying to say because sometimes I don’t want to say it, but she still gets everything.”
You might think Izzy needs Grace, but if you look closer – you realize – just like any other best friend, they need each other.